The heat has not dissipated in British Columbia. It was 51 degrees C in Osoyoos. The Town has turned off the Osprey cam. All three chicks died from heat and it is hoped that the mother is now taking care of herself and rebuilding her strength. The pavement is boiling and you could, literally, fry an egg on it. It is hot on the Canadian Prairies but nothing coming close to 51 C. It is 31 C. Once, many years ago, my son and a high school mate of his and I were in Delhi, India. It was 46 C. You could hardly breathe. It was the monsoon and it was raining and the heat combined with the humidity was unbearable. We headed for the mountains and monkeys in Simla. 51 C is, of course, not typical for Canada in the summer! Not only have our beloved osprey chicks died but also many humans.
I am surrounded by books on my desk, some written two decades ago, warning about heat death. Newer ones like, The Uninhabitable Earth. Life after Warming by David Wallace-Wells, will scare people about what can or is coming. The world did not listen when the warnings came decades ago. Will we listen now? Stopping DDT use is a focused effort. The climate issues are interconnected with everything. It is complicated but needs some really insightful people to figure out how we can really help, if it isn’t too late.
The heat in British Columbia where one of my dearest friends lives is unbearable. Her pottery studio and wood kiln are close to the US border like Osoyoos. I worry for her as the trees get hot, the creeks and the well she depends on gets lower and lower. And, of course, our hearts wrench for the wild life. And then there are the fires.
For now, most of you reading this blog know how to help. Keep your pets cool. Rub an ice cube over them if you have one. Sprinkle them. Maybe skip the long walk and -and of course, keep those precious darlings out of the cars. Leave more water out for the birds. Shallow bowls work! The birds in our garden get many seconds that I have made. But one of their loves are quiche dishes. Don’t ask me why. Maybe they are shallow enough to wade and splash and drink at the same time. The Blue Jay family has been in the bowls almost all day. They have kept me busy running in and out but I don’t mind. The male really likes the little bird sprinkler! Extra treats have been put out too.
I have checked on Electra. She is coming and going on the nest today. Perhaps by Friday, the brooding hormones will be gone. The temperatures have dropped in Washington compared to BC but it is still hot and she needs to get her strength back. Laying eggs, incubating, and trying to feed chicks and yourself when there isn’t enough food will have depleted her reserves. Keep wishing she will find a cool place in the shade and catch fish! Honestly, she cannot count on Wattsworth. What is wrong with him?!
It’s about 2:30 pm and Electra has returned to the Cowlitz Osprey Nest. She stands over her little ones fish crying to Wattsworth. I started thinking about his name. If he were a wattage, it would sure be low. Like a 15 watter instead of a 150 watter. How many of us just want to scream out to Electra to give up on this really dead beat dad. Too many hungry dead babies.
I wanted to check in on some other nests and the first video that came up on YouTube was an old one of Father Stork and the chicks on the Mlady Buky Nest in Czechoslovakia. This is the stork family where the mother was electrocuted. The community came forward to feed the babies and the dad and well, they saved their lives. Lovely, generous people.
This was then:
This is now – these are the babies!!!!!!! Aren’t they just incredibly beautiful? It will not be long until they leave the nest. Father Stork and people of Mlady Buky – you did well! I hope that blessings come to all of you.
Speaking of storks. My son has travelled to Spain from the Caribbean and he sent me images of storks on the old railway station in Caspe. The Ebro River is full of fish including the gigantic Wells Catfish. He tells me that there are storks everywhere along this beautiful river below. He did see a couple of Osprey.
Just look at that one nest on the far left – it is huge! That nest is really incredible.
The camera on the Black Stork Nest at Karula of Karl II and Kaia has been down since there has been a big thunderstorm. I cannot show you an image of the storklets. They are 31 days old today. From the forum in Estonia it appears that everything is OK. Karl II has brought in food five times and Kaia twice. If there is an error in the transmission system, then the camera will come back on line but if the problem is with the hardware, then it will wait. The fear of staring the storklets off the nest before fledge time is simply too great. The average time for the little ones to stay on the nest is 65 to 73 days so we are not yet at the halfway mark.
Tiny Little Bob on the Foulshaw Moss Nest of White YW and Blue 35 is continuing to try and make nest improvements. This afternoon she spent quite a bit of time working, sometimes upsetting Middle Bob, the male, while he was trying to sleep. It seemed that the sticks she required were always under him! Great Big Bob, also a female, prefers to exercise her wings!
Tiny Little is on the far left in the top image. She has been trying to get a stick from under Middle Bob, the male, with no luck.
It is a little warm here. Tiny Little is doing some panting to keep cool. Nothing like North American though.
Great Big Nasty Bob, the other female, is on the far right doing her wing exercises. I sure wish I could get Tiny Little and Great Big Nasty standing up next to one another so you could see the size difference! We all got fooled. Tiny Little is a girl too. In that image you would see a female at the top end of the growth scale and the other at the bottom. However, we are no longer worried about Tiny Little. She has a crop today and will fledge, maybe just a little later, like Tiny Tot at Achieva. I still like to check in on her every day to see how she is doing.
If you would like to watch this Trio while they get ready to hover, here is the link to the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust Osprey Cam. There is no rewind function. Click on the square at the right top to enlarge the image.
https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam
Beautiful Tiny Tot has been on and off the Achieva Osprey Nest. As far as I know there have been no fish today but, of course, Tiny has been eating several large fish for the past couple of days, she is OK. My phone tells me that it is raining in St Petersburg, Florida is 29 C. That is hot! Not in comparison to the Pacific Northwest but the fish could be going down deeper and might not be caught til later in the day.
Tiny in the late morning waiting for fish delivery before the rains hit. Seems she will be waiting til it cools down maybe. We love you Tiny!
It is 5:21 nest time. The rain has come and gone and Tiny Tot is calling Jack wanting her fish! She is persistent and I am sure Jack will turn up with a nice one for her before dark – or maybe even after like the other day.
At the Osprey Nest in the Clywedog Reservoir in the Hafren Forest in Wales, Seren is feeding Only Bob – great Big Boy Bob – his late dinner. (20:50). Look at the size of that Osprey chick. Gracious.
The sun is setting and it is just gorgeous landscape. Just one healthy chick. Thanks so much, Dylan! You are a great dad! I often wonder what it would be like if there were only one healthy chick on every nest. Like most of you, I get terribly upset when the third hatches are beaten on and starving – or die.
The Two Bobs at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey Nest are waiting for NC0 and Laddie to come in with a nice big fish for the end of the day. The sun is turning them golden as it starts to fall behind the horizon. Oh, they are so big!
The evening fish came in at the Rutland Water’s Manton Bay Nest of Blue 33 and Maya. The male chick, 095 nabbed it! Won’t be long til fledge. The hovering is really good on this nest. Indeed, it can be a nail biter.
And then he wasn’t paying attention and he lost his dinner to his Sister!!!!!!!! There is no love when a fish dinner is at stake.
Idris is resting on his perch tree after delivering a really nice fish to Telyn and the Two Bobs. Life is good on the Dyfi Nest!
It rained heavy on the Red tail hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell University campus. It started just before 15:30 and lasted about half an hour. It was pouring and there were no Ks on the nest! I will keep an eye out now that the torrents have stopped. Those two will be soaked! Lucky for them they have feathers, layers and layers of feathers, and don’t need a rain jacket or umbrella!
Yesterday afternoon someone posted a short video clip of K1. She is so cute.
And have you ever wondered how much weight a Golden Eagle might carry? Eagles are opportunistic hunters. If they see something edible, they will not leave it. In this case it was a fox that was carrion (already dead). And this happened in really heavy winds in a storm:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1427226434164178/permalink/3091832501036888/
Wishing for fish for Tiny Tot and any of the other hungry babies out there. Also wishing for an Arctic Cold front to come pouring through for the folks in the extreme heat area.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Stay well, stay safe. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Mlady Buky White Stork Cam, Cowlitz PUD, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Clywedog Osprey Nest and Carnyx Wild, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Loch of the Lows, LRWT and Rutland Water Manton Bay Osprey Nest, Dyfi Osprey Nest, and Cornell Bird Lab and RTH Cam.
Credit for Feature Image to Cris Martin. Storks on old Rail Station in Caspe, Spain. 30 June 2021.